Football: Road to state only goes through Ames for Little Cyclones

Among the goals Ames football coach Bruce Vertanen set for his team early this season was to play eight home games — five in the regular season, three in the postseason.

Among the goals Ames football coach Bruce Vertanen set for his team early this season was to play eight home games — five in the regular season, three in the postseason.

His Little Cyclones have earned the chance to do just that.

With a 41-7 home win against Johnston on Friday night, Ames capped an undefeated regular season that clinched home-field advantage for the entirety of the Class 4A postseason, which starts Wednesday with a 7 p.m. matchup against Indianola (6-3).

After the opener, the Little Cyclones (9-0) could also potentially host a second-round game on Nov. 4 and a quarterfinal contest on Nov. 8 before the state semifinals and championship move to the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls.

“We’re excited about the division championship, but now it’s over,” Ames coach Bruce Vertanen said. “We’re 0-0. You can’t be too excited about it. It’s a tournament now. That’s all your focused on now, is the tournament.”

The Little Cyclones will encounter a well-tested foe in the Indians on Wednesday. Indianola is a No. 4 seed, but its three losses came to West Des Moines Valley, Urbandale and Sioux City East — three teams that have spent time inside or just outside the state AP top-10 poll.

The Indians are a run-based squad, with Cameron Bunting leading the way with 936 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. They average 91.7 passing yards per game.

“I know they’re well-coached,” Vertanen said after Friday’s win.

“I know they have a tremendous lineman, I’ve heard that. But we haven’t played them in a while. I haven’t even seen crossover tape, like you know when we’re playing a (similar) opponent. I don’t know much, but I know every Indianola team I’ve ever seen is extremely well coached.”

Should Ames defeat Indianola, it would host the winner of second-seeded Urbandale (7-2) and third-seeded Ankeny (4-5) on Nov. 4. The favored J-Hawks feature star receiver Allen Lazard, who has verbally committed to Iowa State.

Ames wasn’t the only area team that earned a monumental win Friday. Gilbert upset third-ranked West Marshall, 40-14, in Class 2A action. The victory ended the Trojans’ 33-game regular-season winning streak and its 28-game district winning streak. Both had been the second-longest active streaks in the state.

With the win, the Tigers finished in a three-way tie for the district title, but they got the top seed via the point differential tiebreaker, setting them up well for the playoffs.

Gilbert (6-3) will host Red Oak (3-6) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Further down the line, Gilbert faces a potential second-round rematch with North Polk (8-1), one its fellow district co-champions along with West Marshall. The Comets defeated the Tigers, 27-20, on Sept. 20.

“That was one of our goals too was to make the playoffs, and we did that obviously,” Gilbert coach Scott Auderer said.

“(Friday’s) win isn’t different from a loss in that we have to get right back to work tomorrow morning, because this win doesn’t mean much if you don’t win Wednesday.

“We accomplished one goal, but we’ve got more to reach. So we just have to bring our lunch pails and turn around and get to work on he next goal.”

Elsewhere in Class 2A, Nevada made school history by advancing to the postseason in consecutive years for the first time with a 42-26 win against Roland-Story on Friday. The Cubs (4-5) earned the district fourth seed.

Nevada will have its hands full Wednesday with a road contest at top-seeded Carroll Kuemper (9-0).

In Class 3A, Ballard also secured its postseason berth on the regular season’s final night, beating Newton, 33-13, to earn a No. 4 seed. It will face top-seeded Clear Lake (9-0) on the road Wednesday evening.

In Class 1A, third-seeded South Hamilton (6-3) will open at second-seeded South Winneshiek (6-3) on Wednesday evening. The winner will likely face top-seeded Dike-New Hartford (9-0) in the second round.

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